[News] 500,000 people drink sewage, technological wastewater enters farmland, experts: fear of heavy metal pollution

In addition to being a source of drinking water, the  Touqian River in Hsinchu is also used for irrigation in the farmlands of Qionglin Township. However, the "Clean Water Alliance" found that the conductivity of the wastewater discharged by these technology giants exceeded the standard values, indicating high levels of impurities and possibly heavy metal contamination. Despite this, the Environmental Protection Bureau insists that rivers can self-purify and that there's no problem. However, this assertion was immediately refuted by members of the alliance.

To understand the pollution of the  Touqian River by technology giants, the alliance targeted the coastal "Taiwan Semiconductor," "Silergy," "Ultra Clean," "Micro Sil," and "Shin Shin Electronics" companies, and collected water samples from their discharge outlets for simple testing. Shockingly, the wastewater discharged by these technology giants had a conductivity of over 1200, with high pH values and chemical oxygen demand. According to Chen Cuiqin, the conductivity of irrigation water in Qionglin Township should ideally be below 300 for optimal crop growth, while the national standard for irrigation water is 700. With conductivity levels reaching over 1000, the impact on crops is significant.

Lin Yuansong, director of the Environmental Engineering Institute at Sun Yat-sen University, pointed out that high conductivity indicates high impurities, possibly including heavy metal contamination, requiring further testing. Additionally, with a pH value exceeding 9, which exceeds the industrial wastewater discharge standard, high alkalinity could potentially harm river ecology if the discharge volume is large.

The Shibi Pond New Canal intake irrigates farmlands in Qionglin Township, drawing water from the downstream of the Touqian River.

Regarding the pollution of the  Touqian River, the Hsinchu County Environmental Protection Bureau claims that these large factories all comply with the standards for industrial wastewater discharge. In fact, the pollution standards for discharged water are very low, and the bureau ignores the fact that this river is a source of irrigation and drinking water. It should be held to the standards of "drinking water source water quality." Furthermore, the bureau claims that rivers can "self-purify," meaning that the large flow of the Touqian River can dilute the sewage and mitigate its impact.

However, this statement was immediately contradicted by the mothers of the alliance. Chen Cuiqin pointed out that the Environmental Protection Bureau only calculates the average, deliberately ignoring the significant differences in water quantity between the dry and wet seasons of the Touqian River. During the typhoon season from July to October, when water levels are high, the pollution might have minimal impact (about 0.9%). But from November to February of the following year, during the period of least water, the discharge volume is about 1.87 million tons every ten days, while wastewater accounts for about 450,000 tons, making up 24% of the total. How can they say it doesn't affect the water quality of the tap water source?

The alliance believes that the Environmental Protection Bureau insists that as long as the pollution from these optoelectronic giants meets the standards for discharged water, it deliberately ignores the drinking and irrigation uses of the Touqian River, turning a blind eye to the "drinking water source water quality" standards. Their only demand is for the country to supervise the companies and set up a dedicated pipeline to discharge downstream of the water intake of the tap water plant, which is already very modest.

(Source: https://www.mirrormedia.mg/story/20181007soc004/)